


Of Mercs and Men

by Malkontent



Category: The Chronicles of Riddick Series
Genre: Attempted Blackmail, Bigotry & Prejudice, Bounty Hunters, Bullying, Gen, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 04:45:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8876542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malkontent/pseuds/Malkontent
Summary: Two interludes in Jack's life, from his youth on the streets to his time as a merc.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [migratoryslashfan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/migratoryslashfan/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide! This was a challenging assignment, so I hope this works for you, dear yuletider. Have a great holiday season and new year!

“Fucking quit it! I’m warning you!”

The older boys laughed and pushed Jackie again, sending her stumbling back into the old, crumbling brick wall behind her.

“Ooooh, I’m scared! Skinny little tomboy wants to fight, huh?” 

Jackie braced herself against the wall. She didn’t like her odds. There were two of them and they were bigger than her. Upperclassmen from across the city. Probably down here in the wrong part of town slumming it to look cool.

“What the fuck is your problem?!”

The taller of the two just smirked.

“You’re our problem.” the shorter one said. He seemed to be the more verbose of the pair, “I mean are you even a girl or a boy or what?”

He gestured to her, an open-handed wave that seemed to take in the entirety of her, from her unlaced shoes to her over sized sweater covering a skinny, boyish frame, to her short, tousled hair.

He turned to his friend to laugh and Jackie saw an opening. She tried to bolt past him, but he managed to catch her by the arm.

“Whoa! Where d’ya think you’re going?” 

She wasn’t big, but she was fast. Her fist jumped out and caught him behind the jaw, knocking him back a step, but his grip on her arm held fast. It had stunned him, but it wasn’t close to enough to do any real damage.

“Fuck!” he shouted, dragging her back, “Fucking bitch!”

His friend stepped up behind Jackie and grabbed her shoulder, holding her in place. She tried to throw an elbow at his face, but he dodged it easily and caught her underneath both arms, pulling her tightly back against him. He lifted her up and her feet swung helplessly above the cracked concrete.

“Alright, fine. You want to hit like a guy? Then you get hit like a guy,” the shorter bully said. He pulled his fist back and Jackie closed her eyes, clasping them tight in preparation for what she knew was coming.

The pain exploded through her stomach, sending out burning tendrils into her lungs and kidneys, and turning her limbs into rubber. Her breath was forced from her with an audible gasp and a thousand suns exploded behind her eyelids.

He taller bully relaxed his grip and Jackie slumped to the ground, completely limp. Her face landed on the grimy curb, cutting her nose on a jagged piece of concrete.

“C’mon, man…” the taller one finally spoke, “She’s done.”

The other bully scowled at his friend but said nothing.

“You’re lucky this time, bitch.” he snarled at Jackie. He gave her a half hearted kick in the small of her back and spit on her before turning to walk away with his friend.

Jackie curled up into herself on the pavement, tears in her eyes. 

After a few minutes she was finally able to roll over and get her hands under her, pushing herself to her knees.

“Fuck this city,” she muttered, “Fuck this whole planet…”

 

\-----------------------

 

“Fuck this planet…” Jack muttered to himself as he climbed up the ladder into the cramped room that he shared with Calix on board The Queen’s Bishop. It was barely big enough for two people to stand upright in, with the two small, stacked berths taking up most of one wall. 

He sighed as he closed the door behind him and stripped off his soaking wet shirt. The others were still processing the paperwork and logistics for their latest catch, a multiple felon from the Albatross System, and he was looking forward to a few minutes alone to recover from the day. 

He was a big bounty, and now they knew why. He’d gone to ground on a tropic planet and led them on a chase through acres of swamps filled with booby traps, fetid pools, snakes, leeches, and other unnamable things. Jack had finally been the one to catch up with him, taking him down the hard way, tooth and nail after his stun rifle got clogged with mud. In their merc group, that earned him the biggest share of the bounty and the right to not have to deal with any of the tedious paperwork.

Everything he was wearing was caked in mud and soaked through; he had to strip down to his boxers. Even the tight bandages that he used to bind his breasts were wet and he breathed a sigh of relief as he removed them. They were a problem, and he knew that he might have to do something about them one of these days, but for now this was the best option he had available. 

Jack looked at himself in the small mirror the hung at an angle next to the room’s sink. He was a mess. It was definitely time for a shower.

“Hey Jack, where’d you put those cuffs we used on…”

Jack spun around, instinctively reaching for the shirt on the bed nearby, but it was too late. Aston was standing in the room’s doorway, staring with wide eyes at his fellow merc.

“What the fuck…” he muttered.

“Get the fuck out of here, Aston,” Jack said threateningly. He held the shirt over his chest with one arm and took a step back. His backside pressed against the small sink.

“What is this, a joke? You’re a chick?”

“I swear to god, if you don’t turn around and forget everything you just saw, you’ll fucking regret it.”

The merc laughed.

“Oh shit, sweetheart, if you think I’m gonna forget this, you got another thing coming.”

He took a step into the room.

“Aston, I swear to god, I will end you. This is none of your business.”

Aston grinned and reached for the shirt.

“I’m making it my business. What are you gonna do for me to keep my mouth shut?”

Aston was quick, but Jack was quicker. Before the merc could grab the shirt he whipped it forward into his face. The damp fabric clung to him, stinging mud blinding his eyes. 

“Fuck!” he shouted, stumbling back. 

Jack was on him in a heartbeat, wrapping a wiry arm around his neck and kicking his knee out from under him. The merc collapsed on his face, half in and half out of the room, Jack stradling his back with his head in a chokehold. A blade appeared as if out of nowhere, jabbing Aston in the back.

“Fuck you!” Jack screamed, pressing the blade hard enough to draw blood through the merc’s shirt, “You want to know what I’m gonna do for you, you piece of shit? How about I stick this blade into your sweet spot? Left of the spine, fourth lumbar down… You wouldn’t be the first piece of shit I’ve killed.”

Aston groaned in response.

“Ok… ok… fuck, I’m sorry…”

“You are sorry, you asshole. I swear to god, if you say a word to anybody I will cut your goddamn balls off and choke you with them.”

“Ok... Jesus… I swear…”

Jack leaned back, letting go of his grip on the merc’s throat and grabbed him by the hair, slamming his face into the steel floor. Aston let out a grunt of pain.

Jack stood up and looked down at the pathetic bounty hunter sprawled on the floor. 

“You’re lucky this time, bitch,” he said, “Get the fuck out of my room. And next time… learn to fucking knock.”

Aston dragged himself out into the hallway and Jack slammed the door behind him.

He knew he couldn’t trust Aston. If he stayed on The Queen’s Bishop he would either be outed or he’d have to kill the bastard. It was time to find a new crew. Time to move on again. It wasn't the first time. But he’d bought himself a little bit of breathing room, at least.

Right now it was time for a shower.


End file.
